“So you’re the little woman who wrote the
book that started this Great
War!”
As the story goes, Abraham Lincoln spoke those words after being
introduced to Harriet Beecher Stowe. The President of the United
States of America gave credit for the cause of the Civil War to this
now legendary lady. Lincoln felt, and perhaps rightly so, that if
it were not for Stowe’s book Uncle Tom’s Cabin people may never have
fought and died to end the practice of slavery in America.

Most Americans know of this story. They were taught it in school,
but that is usually how far the knowledge extends. Few people
know of the little town called Brunswick
near the Maine coast where
Stowe was inspired and authored her history changing novel. And
many people would be shocked to learn that Brunswick is perhaps the
most historically significant town in America that they’ve never heard
of.

BOWDOIN COLLEGE

CHAMBERLAIN HOUSE

FIRST PARISH CHURCH

Situated
along the Androscoggin River, Brunswick
is home to Bowdoin College. Franklin
Pierce, the country’s fourteenth president
graduated from Bowdoin in 1824. In 1825 both Nathaniel Hawthorne
and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow graduated in the same class. In
1850, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s husband, a professor named Calvin Stowe
who graduated Bowdoin in 1824, moved to Brunswick to teach at his
alumni. It was in Brunswick’s First Parish Church where Stowe was
said to have a vision that inspired her to write her book. The
pew where she sat is appropriately marked, and all who come to see it
can say they saw the very place where the Civil War began and the
future of this country was forever changed.

The Civil War was long and bloody, but it also produced some of the
nation’s most impressive military legends. Of all these great
decorated generals, none stands taller than Maine’s own Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain,
whose house, now a museum, sits just across the street
from the First Parish Church. The hero of Little Round Top, with
ammunition running out, ordered his men to charge the Confederates and
save the high ground for the Union Army at Gettysburg. His
heroics on that hill, in the face of what must have seemed like certain
defeat, helped the Union to win this pivotal battle.

Chamberlain fought and was wounded several times during the course of
the war. As if his status as American hero were not already
cemented at Gettysburg, Chamberlain was shot during the Battle of
Petersburg. His wound was thought to be fatal. As a gesture
of goodwill for Chamberlain’s impeccable service, General Ulysses S.
Grant had him promoted on the field to brigadier general, thinking the
general would not live much longer. But Chamberlain did live and
even returned to service months later.

But in true hero fashion, Chamberlain saved his best for last. At
Appomattox Court House, his unit was selected by the Union hierarchy to
formally receive the surrender of the Confederates. As the
southern troops marched down the road to give up their colors and arms,
Chamberlain did something unprecedented. He ordered his men to
salute their enemy. It was the beginning of a long and difficult
healing process, and Chamberlain set the tone for the country.

After the war, Chamberlain returned to Maine and lived out his days in
his house in Brunswick. In those
post-war years he served as
president of Bowdoin College and also served
four years as Maine’s
governor. His house is now a museum and across the street from it
is a statue and monument to Brunswick’s favorite war hero.

SIDEBAR

MAIN BAR

Just
a few blocks down Maine Street is another fitting tribute to Joshua Chamberlain, a terrific
pub that bears his name. JOSHUA'S
TAVERN is a local favorite to everyone from Bowdoin College
students to
servicemen and women at the Brunswick Naval Air Station. The
unique brick architecture lends character and atmosphere to the
building and gives off an easily recognizable sense of place. The
details around the tavern are a tribute to the heritage of Maine’s
coast as well as the man whose name everyone who comes to Brunswick
should know.

After a morning of touring Brunswick’s historic sights, my wife and I
stopped into Joshua’s for lunch. The first thing a beer fanatic
like me notices is the large selection of drafts to choose from.
But when you glance at all the taps standing at attention along the
back bar, there is one the stands a bit taller. Who could resist
the “Chamberlain Pale Ale?” I commented to my wife, “A monument
is nice, and a museum would be cool, but I want someone to name a great
beer and tavern after me!”

If
you drive north on Route 1 heading towards the various gorgeous
seaside villages of Maine’s rocky shore, you’ll pass only a few blocks
from the center of Brunswick. If you don’t make that turn towards
Main Street and downtown, you’ll never know how close you were to
experiencing one of America’s most historically significant
towns. Your vacation will come and go, and Maine will not
disappoint. But next time you make the trip, wouldn’t it be fun
to see a town that was the home to a president, two literary giants, a
true war hero and the start of the country’s greatest armed conflict?